Comments for Family Business Wisdom, Thoughts & Education

Comment on Inherited Partners by Maria C. Forbes

Maria C. Forbes — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 20:20:15 +0000

Chris;
It was a pleasure to read your post via LinkedIn. The critical questions for family teams also include who and what! Who is the team made up of, and what are the natural problem solving insistencies that drive their productive actions. Do their problem solving strengths align with a role description? We appreciate your work in helping family business teams; we may have some synergies in helping Family Teams become professional teams.

Comment on “Workplace Spirituality” in Family Firms by Cherry Lim

Cherry Lim — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 03:59:14 +0000

“link between employee personal growth and learning with job performance, satisfaction and retention.” Totally agree with that. Like they say: If you love your job, you’ll never have to work a day in your life. This is something lacking in those ‘huge’ company firms-the personal factor. If each employee was treated individually, their performance will greatly increase. Often, companies just treat their employees as ‘walking money making machines’ and the same goes for the employees themselves. A family structured company will result in loyal and happy people.

Comment on “Workplace Spirituality” in Family Firms by Shane

Shane — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 03:34:22 +0000

I think workplace spirituality involves providing employees the opportunities to discover a deeper meaning of their jobs. Employees are beings who also want to see their role in the big picture. If we draw out their work motivation from this perspective, it’s really not difficult to introduce improvement initiatives in the workplace. Any change shall be met with very little resistance, if there’s any, because they know that it will help them accomplish a mission that goes beyond and bigger than the company making profits. Just my thoughts…

Shane of SpurPress, a Malaysian SEO Company

Comment on Accountability: “Evaluate to improve, not to prove.” by Carmen Lence Ferreiro

Carmen Lence Ferreiro — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 06:32:35 +0000

Thanks for your advocacy to accountability!
In my experience with next generation family business members, lack of accountability is actually felt like being lost. They don’t know where are they going, if they are doing well or not, they are lost, there is no direction. Of course, it is quite difficult to improve at something if you don’t know what is that that you should be improving!
In the case of Next gen working for founders, this is sadly very common. Entrepreneurs are doers that don’t waste time in implementing process and actually don’t care that much about career development. Most of the time they rather have yes men working for them, so there is not much room for discussion. So, in my humble opinion, the nextgens should be the ones to promote the establishment of accountability process for themselves and make sure that they keep improving. They are the ones that have to lose the most if that does not happens!

Comment on What’s on the minds of 2nd generation business leaders? by Carmen Lence Ferreiro

Carmen Lence Ferreiro — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 23:45:30 +0000

Hi Jennifer,
Thanks for your post. Great information and great analysis of the reasons behind it!
I’m curious about what is the source of information. Was it a survey? Personal interviews?
I like to know more about it and if it is a survey or study, I’d appreciate if you could let me know where I can find it.
Best regards,
Carmen

Comment on IT’S NOT JUST FAMILY SUCCESSORS THAT FIND IT TOUGH TO FOLLOW FOUNDERS by Carmen Lence

Carmen Lence — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 07:49:25 +0000

Adding onto your post, I just want to point at the fact that many founders created their companies in favorable conditions like a growing market and little competition. Instead, their successors receive a business in a stagnating market with fierce competition and mature products. Not easy to shine in those conditions.

Comment on Growing up with downsizing by Carmen Lence Ferreiro

Carmen Lence Ferreiro — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 18:58:15 +0000

Dear Albert,
Great post and great ideas!
As you rightly mentioned, many Next Generation members feel that their own family business may not be the right place to learn entrepreneurship skills, and in many cases leadership skills. So, encouraging the Next Generation to go out and do their own thing is great advise not only for them, but their families and eventually for their Family Business that will benefit from their experiences and new ways of doing thinks.

I left my family Business for that reason twice. The first to start my own career outside the Family Business and native country. The second time, after working again for the Familybiz for a few years, following my husband international career and deciding to create my own company.

Both times my father tried to convince me to stay in the Family Company, and both times he eventually recognized that leaving the company was the right move and that added value to the family and to the company. My experience outside the Family Business have helped me to develop my own identity, great self-confidence, great personal network and among many other things, a wider vision of the world and possibilities for the business that definetly adds value to the company and to my relationship with my family.

Comment on “Workplace Spirituality” in Family Firms by Debbie

Debbie — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 19:33:08 +0000

I had a job that operated as a family first. It wasn’t the best paying job, but it was the best treating job. They made me feel exactly as you mentioned in your article ‘…treated more like siblings, sons, and daughters.’ I was loyal to that job like no other!

Now that I own my own business, I work hard to make my employees feel like that because I know first hand the dynamic it creates and that is what I want for my business!

Comment on Is Your Family Business a Sphex Wasp? by carmen lence

carmen lence — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 16:57:24 +0000

I did a personal SWOT analysis of my personal situation at the time and decided that it was time to face reality and stop kidding myself. In my case, I was working in a FB and realized that if I ever wanted to lead it in the future the best thing I could do was to leave and get experience somewhere else. It was a very difficult decision to take. When you work for your family there is so much pressure around you to just go with the flow, keep your head down and pretend that you have the fantastic life other people think you have. I just realized I could fool everybody but myself. So, it was very scare, but I left anyway. I followed my instincts and I was 100% right.

Comment on “Workplace Spirituality” in Family Firms by Rick

Rick — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 23:36:48 +0000

“Many businesses have begun to realize the benefits of treating a person as a whole rather than as an employee by actively supporting their professional and personal development that promotes personal growth and long-term character development.”

It’s unfortunate that it’s taken so long for businesses to realize that there are intangible benefits when you treat your people like, well, people. I feel like we were starting to head in this direction in the mid nineties when everyone was flush with cash and the dot coms were booming, but as times got tougher the culture got more impersonal and “strictly business.” I think the morale impact of the poor job market we’ve seen in the last decade will likely haunt us for years to come.

Great post!